, Research Paper

The United States and the Holocaust

I. Public

A. Opinion

B. Anti-semitism

C. Pro-Jew

II. Government

A. Immigration

1. Laws

2. Quotas

3. Policy

B. Conferences

1. Evian

2. British Meeting

III. S.S. St. Louis

IV. War Refugee Board

A. Executive Order No. 9417

B. Effectss

The United States has turned a blind oculus to many things, revenue enhancement equivocation, corruptness, transplant, greed, ? back pocket action, ? and countless other things, but what it did during World War II was unlike any of the above. Throughout this paper you will see United States reaction and policy in the presence of what Nazi Germany called the Final Solution, what the remainder of the universe recognized as, The Holocaust.

Public sentiment has ever played a immense function in how American responds to anything. From a new jurisprudence to whether or non to travel to war, if a president wants to be re-elected he will travel with the people. Unfortunately, the people are non ever right. For case, in a 1942 sentiment canvass, Jews were ranked 3rd when asked which group of people were a threat to America ( America Deceit and Indifference ) . Other polls through out the state showed the same, even before the U.S. entered the war, a canvass in 1939 showed that over half of the state, 53 % , said that Jews should be treated specially and restricted ( America Deceit and Indifference ) . An anti-semitic aura was in the air throughout the United States, Jews couldn? t get occupations in many topographic points, talkers such as Fr. Coughlin spewed anti-Jewish stuff out, the American Nazi party held mass meetings, and even the media was against the Jews. When the narrative foremost broke about the race murder in Germany, it was carried by the New York Times on the 10th page. In fact, throughout the war, the intelligence of the slaughter ne’er made the front page of any major newspaper.

With all that force per unit area against the Jews, salvaging them would look like a lost cause in the United States, nevertheless legion organisations rallied, held protests, and exerted influence on the Washington authorities to make something. Louis D. Brandeis was merely one of the many outstanding American Jews who refused to allow his brothers across the sea dice. He was instrumental in acquiring the Roosevelt disposal to ease up on visa demands and acquire all the Jews applying for entryway addition entry. While no large-scale functionary boycott was placed on German goods, Judaic and non-Jewish leaders all over the state organized a boycott of German goods, trusting that economic force per unit area would derive an surrogate stoping to Hitler? s Final Solution.

Unfortunately, all the boycotts and mass meetings could non assist the Jews trapped in Germany and German occupied countries. What those unfortunate psyches needed was a topographic point to travel, and for that, merely the U.S. authorities could assist. However, due to increased patriotism during the 1920? s, Congress had passed the Immigration Law of 1924 that enacted quotas leting merely a certain figure of people from each state into the United States. In fact, at the clip of the holocaust, merely 52,000 Germans would be allowed to immigrate to the United States in one twelvemonth ( Comprehensive Immigration Law 2 ) . There were non adequate musca volitanss to acquire all the people out who needed it.

When it came to in-migration, the United States was really rigorous about how many people it allow in. Nevertheless, they did demo they wanted to assist the Jews so in July 1938 they called the Evian Conference. This conference was supposed to assist make up one’s mind where all the Jews coming from Germany would be able to settle, but since the U.S. and other chief powers would non let more immigrants, the smaller states followed suit and nil was accomplished. Since the Evian Conference did non carry through anything, the United States agreed to a closed-door meeting with British functionaries over the affair of delivering Hebrews from Nazi occupied district. While this looked good on the outside, U.S. representatives were sent at that place with? secret directives from the State Department to carry through small or anything. ? ( Primary Beginnings 3 ) .

Not merely did the United States try to maintain Hebrews from her boundary line in the conferences, but official policy in Washington was demoing that excessively. In a memo from Assistant Secretary of State Breckinridge Long to State Department Officials, Long outlined ways that the State Department could cut down the figure of visas issued.

? We can detain and efficaciously halt for a impermanent period of indefinite length the figure of immigrants into the United States. We could make this by merely reding our consuls, to set every obstruction in the manner? ? ( Memo 1 )

By publishing that memo, Long was trusting to prorogue and detain any immigrants opportunity of acquiring to the U.S. His order did its occupation, and by the terminal of 1940, issued visas had been cut in half ( America Deceit and Indifference ) . Not merely was visa issue badly crippled, but besides in-migration to the United States. In 1939, the figure of new immigrants to

the United States was 82,998, by the 1943 the floodgates of in-migration had been closed to a drip and merely 23,725 aliens were immigrating to the United States ( Immigration to the US ) . And the lessening was non because people stopped desiring to travel to the U.S.

One of the chief? functionary? grounds for non leting quotas to be increased or leting all refugees haven in the United States was fear for occupations. The American Americans said they were already pressed for occupations and by leting Europe? s? undesirables, ? the competition for occupations would be excessively tough. Therefore, with the populace? s sentiment still anti-semitic, congress went to President Roosevelt. Knowing that the measure was unpopular politically and even with his ain cousin, Laura Delano, stating, ? Twenty thousand capturing kids would all excessively shortly turn into 20,000 ugly grownups, ? FDR opted to take no action. And with that, the measure died in commission. Yet, a similar measure came up a few old ages subsequently except covering with British kids and it was passed quickly.

Another calamity covering with refugees would be of the S.S. St. Louis. The S.S. St. Louis was a ship in the Hamburg-America line and carried one 1000 riders. This ship was a last to opportunity to many Germans as they came out of concealing merely to catch it, if those people were to remain in Germany, they would hold been sent to concentration cantonments, or worse, killed. As the ship was sailing toward Cuba, they had received wires stating that they must travel rapidly because two other ships were besides heading toward Havana with Jewish refugees, though puzzled by this, they continued to sail and do the best clip as possible. Unfortunately, after a rider had died of old age, a hard-pressed crewmember jumped overboard which caused a twosome hours hold for the hunt, he was ne’er found. When the ship finally reached Cuba, they were non allowed to ground in Havana but had to halt at the roadstead. What had happened was that the entry visas for the riders into Cuba had been sold by the Director of Immigration without giving the president or any other functionary a cut of the money. When President Bru found out about this he refused to allow the ship land. Dejected, the ship turned up the Florida seashore hoping that the United States would allow them dock and drop the refugees. However, that was non traveling to go on, in fact, the full clip the U.S. Coast Guard trailed the ship ( Tragedy ) . The official ground to maintain path of it in instance dialogues would allow the ship land in Cuba or the U.S. , but it is more likely that the St. Louis was followed to do certain the ship did non set down or drop any of the riders through life tonss.

Even though the United States did many things that did non assist the Jews during World War II, on January 22, 1944, FDR did make one thing to assist them. Executive Order No. 9417 set up the War Refugee Board. The board would dwell of the Secretary of State, Secretary of Treasury, and the Secretary of War ; and this board would be allowed to be after for the deliverance of the Jews and the constitution of cantonments for the reclaimed people ( War Refugee Board ) . Working with the leaders from Judaic organisations all over the universe havens were established for refugees in legion states. Even though the United States had set up the board, they had the least sum of cantonments set up for refugees, merely one. Furthermore, this cantonment was merely allowed because it was purely a impermanent site for the refugees. The footings were that the people be returned following the terminal of the war. In amount, the cantonment set up in Ft. Ontario in New York, was more for promotion than for aid. While the War Refugee Board did assist salvage 200,000 lives, the sum of lives that it could hold saved if it had been enacted merely a few old ages earlier is incalculable.

Like with anything, how the United States reacted to the Holocaust was non based on merely one thing. How the public idea did non entirely find what official U.S. policy was because people on both sides of the tabular array were in there contending for what they believed. Nor even when functionary policy was set, such as the memo stating consuls how to restrict the figure of visas, was it engraved in rock, contrasting sentiments would be sent out, and, like Executive Order No. 9417, go new policy. The United States and the Holocaust was non merely policies or sentiments, but more a timeframe in which sentiment and policy swayed like a immature tree in the air current. Right or incorrect is a affair for the person, merely the facts are offered here.

Plants Cited

America and the Holocaust: Deceit and Indifference. Dir. Martin Otrow. Shanachie Entertainment Corp. 1994

American History Online. ? Comprehensive Immigration Law 1924. ? 22 Apr 2001.

Judaic Virtual Library. ? Immigration to the United States. ? 23 Apr 2001.

Judaic Virtual Library. ? The War Refugee Board. ? 23 Apr 2001.

Judaic Virtual Library. ? The Calamity of the S.S. St. Louis. ? 23.Apr 2001

Public Broadcasting Service. ? Memo from Assistant Secretary of? ? 22 Apr 2001.

Public Broadcasting Service. ? Primary Sources. ? 23 Apr 2001.

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